Deck 12: Employment Communication

Question 1

What is your grade-point average overall and in your majorIs either one high enough to be considered a selling point

Answer 1

The overall as well the major grade point average is A2.
These are high enough to be mentioned in a résumé. A good academic score increases the hiring firm's confidence in the candidate's ability to accomplish the job responsibility. The increased confidence, therefore, positively impacts the possibility of selection. Mentioning a high academic score on the résumé is a good idea.

Question 2

Practice dressing up for an interview.
With your classmates, agree on a date when everyone will come to class dressed for a job interview. If you're shy, you can meet in small groups to give each other feedback. If you're bold, have a fashion show. One person at a time can walk in front of the class for feedback. Be kind, of course! Give each other tips on professional attire and grooming.

Answer 2

Not Answer

Question 3

Create a social résumé.
Transform your résumé to an online version. Use VisualCV (www.visualcv.com), Resume Social (www.resumesocial.com), or CareerCloud (www.careercloud.com) to create an interactive résumé. Share the link with two other students for feedback.

Answer 3

Not Answer

Question 4

Leave a voice mail message.
Imagine that you are following up on a cover letter you sent. Use the guidelines in this chapter to leave a short, professional voice mail message on your instructor's office phone that shows your initiative and enthusiasm for the job.

Question 5

Have you received any academic honors, such as scholarships or being named to the dean's listIf so, list them.

Question 6

Write a thank-you email.
Imagine that you had a great interview for your ideal job. Write a thank-you email to your interviewer to reinforce your interest in the position and your qualifications. Send the email to your instructor for feedback.

Question 7

Customize a cover letter.
After you identify a company and position that interests you and for which you're qualified, write a customized cover letter. How will you express interest in this specific companyWhich experiences will you highlight

Question 8

Follow up after an interview.
Have you had an interview in the past, and the interviewer never got back to youOr have you sent a résumé and not received a responseThink about one of these situations, and write an email to follow up. Exchange drafts with a partner to make sure your request is clear and your tone is appropriate.

Question 9

Did you take any elective courses that are relevant to the job and that might differentiate you from other applicantsIf so, list them.

Question 10

Discuss options for gifts.
Working in small groups, discuss your experience with giving gifts at work. Have you ever given or received a gift in a workplaceWho were the people involved, and what were the giftsDiscuss whether you believe, in retrospect, that these gifts were appropriate.

Question 11

Change your cover letter to an email message.
Change a cover letter you wrote previously (or the one you wrote for Exercise 4) to a version you'll send as an email. What changes will you make in the salutation and formattingHow can you reduce the lengthHow will you change the tone to make it more appropriate for an email message
Exercise 4
Customize a cover letter.
After you identify a company and position that interests you and for which you're qualified, write a customized cover letter. How will you express interest in this specific companyWhich experiences will you highlight

Question 12

Practice introducing people at work.
Assume the role of Pat Gibson, Catering Director for Writeaway Hotels. You're expecting Carly Singleton, an event manager and important potential client from Atlanta, for a business meeting at 10 a.m. Carly will be accompanied by Eunji Shun, who reports to her. You've met both of them once before. Working with other students who will play these roles, make the following introductions:
a. Carly Singleton and Ian Mendoza (Pat's manager)
b. Carly Singleton and Margaret Bryant (Ian's assistant)
c. Eunji Shun and Ian Mendoza (Pat's manager)
d. Eunji Shun and Jay Chan (summer intern)

Question 13

List in reverse chronological order (most recent job first) the following information for each job you've held during college: company name, job title, location (city and state), and dates of employment. Describe your specific responsibilities in each position. Use short phrases, beginning each responsibility with an action verb, and showing, where possible, specific evidence of the results you achieved.

Question 14

Practice eating a business meal.
Imagine that you're taking two or three clients out for lunch. With your classmates, arrange a meeting time at a local restaurant or a dining hall on campus. Assign roles: one of you will be the host, and the others will play various levels within the client organization-director, assistant director, and manager.
If you go to a dining hall, imagine that you have to explain to your guests what is available and the process for getting food and returning trays and silverware. Invite your guests to go ahead of you and direct them where to sit, being sensitive to their preferences.
If you go to a restaurant, follow guidelines from this chapter for ordering food. Perhaps the host can pay (but then get reimbursed by the guests).

Question 15

Applying for an internal position
A position has just opened in another department at the company where you work. While you have a lot of experience in your current job, the new position would require you to learn about new products and procedures. Write a cover letter in the form of an email to the hiring manager to express your interest in the new position, describe your accomplishments in your current position, and explain how your skills will help you succeed.

Question 16

Evaluate your online reputation.
Congratulations! You just got a final interview with your favorite company. Imagine that the recruiter searches for you online to see what additional information she can find out about you. First, Google yourself using a few combinations of your name, nickname, school, and town. What positive and potentially negative information do you findNext, look at your Facebook page and review posts for the past three months. Do you see any red flagsFinally, look at your LinkedIn profile, and compare it to your résumé. Do you see any inconsistencies
You don't need to give your instructor details about what you found, but write an email summarizing whether your favorite employer would find reasons to reject you as a candidate or hire you. Also include what, if any, changes you will make to ensure that you're represented online in the best possibly way.

Question 17

What additional information might you include, such as special skills, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, languages spoken, and so on

Question 18

Rewrite a networking email.
Imagine that your friend, Ron, asks you to review a draft networking email before he sends it. His goal is to get a summer internship in the marketing department of the company. What advice would you give to your friendIf you were Ron, how would you revise the email

Question 19

Expand your network.
To expand your job search, you might reach out to people you know. Search for groups on LinkedIn that reflect your career interests. Join two or three, and observe the discussion for one week. Then, begin participating in the discussion. See how you can add value and learn more about your field of interest.

Question 20

Improve your résumé.
Exchange résumés with a partner. Using the principles in this chapter, analyze your partner's résumé. Imagine that you're a human resources manager who reviews hundreds of résumés every day. Use this checklist to provide feedback to your partner and suggest improvements:

Question 21

Write networking emails.
Find a few executives with whom you would like to network. For this exercise, you can decide-based on your own career goals-what you would like to get out of the experience: a visit to the company's headquarters, a chance to meet with an executive to see what it's like to work for your dream company, more information about a field that interests you, or a summer internship. Just be realistic and avoid placing too much burden on someone you don't know.
To find people to contact, you might search your college's alumni database, ask friends or family for recommendations, look at companies' websites, or search online for people's names and titles. The more people you include, the more likely you will get responses.
Prepare a draft generic email. Then, tailor the email to each executive on your list. Think about ways to connect with each person to encourage a positive response.

Question 22

How will you word your name at the top of your résumé-for example, with or without any initials

Question 23

Research a potential employer.
Assume that your favorite company has invited you to interview. To prepare for the interview, research the company by reviewing its website, reading news stories, and exploring websites such as Hoovers, Vault, and Glassdoor. Concentrate on information most likely to help you during the interview.
Now assume that another student, who is also interested in the company, asks you what you have learned. You're such a nice person that you're willing to tell him or her everything! Write an email to this student summarizing your research.

Question 24

Customize your résumé for a job.
One way to land a job is to apply for opportunities posted through your school's career center. But you can supplement your search by reaching out to other companies that interest you. Using your school's career center, the Internet, and library research tools, brainstorm a list of companies where you would like to work. On Hoovers (www.hoovers.com), for example, you can search for companies by industry or location. After you identify companies that interest you, take a look at their career websites. What positions are availableHow do they describe the organizational culture
If a company and position seem like a fit for you, then prepare a customized résumé. You might change, for example, which past jobs you include on your résumé, how you describe your responsibilities, and which extracurricular activities or skills you include. Imagine yourself receiving the résumé. Does it seem like a fit for the organization and culture

Question 25

Prepare a list of questions for a potential employer.
For an upcoming interview (or from your research completed in Exercise 9), prepare a list of questions you might ask during the interview. You may not have the time to ask everything, but prepare a long list, just in case.
Exercise 9
Research a potential employer.
Assume that your favorite company has invited you to interview. To prepare for the interview, research the company by reviewing its website, reading news stories, and exploring websites such as Hoovers, Vault, and Glassdoor. Concentrate on information most likely to help you during the interview.
Now assume that another student, who is also interested in the company, asks you what you have learned. You're such a nice person that you're willing to tell him or her everything! Write an email to this student summarizing your research.

Question 26

What is the title of your degreeThe name of your collegeThe location of the collegeYour major and minorYour expected date of graduation (month and year)

Question 27

Prepare a career preparation portfolio.
To prepare for your job search, conduct research and meet with people who can help you. First, target specific people within companies where you might like to work. You will need to send a few networking emails to ask for assistance. Your goal is to complete the following activities within one or more companies:
• Job shadow someone in the company who holds a job that interests you.
• Observe a meeting or formal presentation.
• Attend a training program.
• Meet with people in your field (informational interviews).
In addition, to understand your field of interest, pursue professional development activities, such as the following:
• Find two professional associations for your field of interest. You may search online for these organizations. Study their websites to understand the purpose, membership, and mission of each organization.
• Attend a local meeting of one of the professional organizations that interests you.
• Find two professional journals within your field of interest, and study one article from each.
• Search for news stories or credible blogs about your field. Study what these sources say about important trends or developments within your field. Prepare a portfolio of your work, and submit it to your instructor. You might be instructed to include the following:
• A cover memo summarizing what you learned from these activities
• Observations from your job shadowing experience
• Copies of handouts or presentation decks you received during meetings or training programs
• Notes from your informational interviews
• Observations about professional associations in your field
• Notes from the professional association meeting you attended
• Summaries of journal articles you read
• An analysis of trends and developments that might affect your career choice in the future
Organize your portfolio in a way that makes sense to you-not necessarily in the order presented here. Include a table of contents for your materials and a title page.

Question 28

Create an infographic résumé.
Using principles from Chapter 9, create a graphical representation of your education and work history. For ideas, you might search Google Images (images.google.com). You'll see hundreds of creative approaches.

Question 29

Practice a behavioral interview.
To prepare for this exercise, identify between 10 and 15 examples of stories from your experience, as described in this chapter. Then, in class, work in groups of three to practice answering a behavioral interview question. Take turns, with one of you asking the question, another responding, and the third person observing and taking notes, using the checklist below to evaluate the candidate's response:

Here are a few behavioral interview questions you may ask your partner:
• Tell me about a time when you worked well as part of a team. What was your role, and what was the result of the team's work
• Please tell me about a situation when you had a difficult problem to solve. What did you do, and how did it turn out
• Please give me an example of a positive interaction you had with a customer. What was the situation, what did you do, and how did it turn out
• What do you consider your greatest strength in communicating with othersCan you give me an example of when you used this skill or technique, and tell me how it worked out
• Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the result
• Please give me an example of a difficult decision you made recently. How did you go about making the decision, and what was the result